Shape of You
| Recorded = 2016 | Format = Digital download | Genre = | Length = | Label = | Writer = }} | Producer = |Steve Mac}} | Last single = "Castle on the Hill" (2017) | This single = "Shape of You" (2017) | Next single = "Galway Girl" (2017) | Misc = }} }} "Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released as a digital download on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The dancehall-infused pop song was written and produced by Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac, along with additional writing contributions from Johnny McDaid, Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs. "Shape of You" peaked at number-one on the singles charts of 35 different countries, including the [[Billboard Hot 100|US Billboard Hot 100]], as well as the UK, Australian and Canadian singles charts. It has stayed at number one for 16 consecutive weeks on the Canadian Hot 100 tied for the record, and 14 non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and 12 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It is currently the second most streamed song on Spotify, and one of only four songs with over 1 billion streams on the site. Background On 4 January 2017, Sheeran uploaded a six-second teaser video of a blue background to social media, with lyrics "the club isn't the best place to find a lover", which is the first line of "Shape of You". On 6 January 2017, when hosting The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Sheeran revealed that "Shape of You" had originally been written with Rihanna in mind. To further tease the release, Sheeran and his label used a sponsored Snapchat lens filter with 30 seconds on the song to increase buzz among the general public. He said: "of You' is actually a really random one because I went in to write songs for other people with a guy called Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid, and we were writing this song and I was like 'this would really work for Rihanna,'" he explained. "And then I started singing lyrics like 'putting Van The Man on the jukebox' and I was like 'well she's not really going to sing that, is she?' And then we sort of decided halfway through that we were just going to make it for me." He continued, "This was the last song that was finished, and I just didn't put two and two together that this was even going to be on the album. I just kind of wrote it and was like 'oh, that was fun.'" Composition "Shape of You" is a pop, dancehall and tropical house song with "strummy acoustics." In the song, Sheeran sings over a marimba-fueled percussive sway about a budding romance. "The club isn't the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go/ Me and my friends at the table doing shots drinking fast and then we talk slow," he sings. "Come over and start up a conversation with just me/ And trust me I'll give it a chance." According to NT News, the song "tells the story of loved (or lusted) up Sheeran meeting a girl in a bar where he and his mates are doing shots." "Shape of You" is written in the key of C minor with a tempo of 96 beats per minute. The song is composed in common time ( time), and follows a basic chord progression of C m–F m–A–B (i–iv–VI–VII), and Sheeran's vocals span from G 3 to G 5. The song's lyrical rhythm drew comparisons to the TLC song "No Scrubs", particularly in the pre-chorus line, "Boy, let's not talk too much/ Grab on my waist and put that body on me." As a result, the composers of "No Scrubs," Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, were awarded co-writing credits on "Shape of You". Critical reception Jon Caramanica from The New York Times said, "'Shape of You' is trickier, a nimble and effective song that takes the aggressive thinning of 'Caribbean music'." Billboard s Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "'Shape of You' doesn't quite sound like your typical Sheeran tune. But that almost serves as an indication of what the "Thinking Out Loud" singer has been up to during his hiatus: creating music that still feels like Sheeran, just with a new twist." Jeremy Gordon of Spin gave the song a positive review, stating that the song "is a plausible attempt at convincing us he has had sex ... a lot of it. It kind of slaps, though you can't really picture Sheeran ever saying 'put that body on me' to a real human woman." News website Metro wrote that it sounds similar to the song "Cheap Thrills" by Sia. Commercial performance "Shape of You" reached number one in the official charts of 30 countries, and has received various certifications. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January, selling 227,000 combined units in its first week. Sheeran also debuted at number 2 with the song "Castle on the Hill", making him the only artist in UK chart history to debut in the top two positions. "Shape of You" debuted at number two on the Scottish Singles Chart behind "Castle on the Hill". The song was certified Silver in the first week due to selling 200,000 units and Gold in the second week selling 400,000 units. The song remained at number one in its second week, selling 139,000. It has stayed at number one for 13 consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and a further week at the top after a week's interruption by Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times". As of April 2017, the song has sold 1,811,910 copies in total and accumulated 120,810,200 streams. The song debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 240,000 downloads and gaining 20 million streams in its debut week in the US, becoming Sheeran's first number one song in the country. Sheeran also became the first artist to debut two songs in the top 10 the same week in the history of the Hot 100, with "Castle on the Hill" also debuting at number six. "Shape of You" topped the Hot 100 for 12 non-consecutive weeks. In its fourth week at number one, the song also topped the Mainstream Top 40, becoming Sheeran's second number-one single on the chart (after 2015's "Thinking Out Loud"). On 6 May 2017, it fell to number two on the Hot 100, being displaced by "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar. On ''Billboard'' s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, "Shape of You" became Sheeran's first number one on a Dance/EDM chart (his third top ten and sixth overall at Dance/Mix Show Airplay) in the United States."Kygo & Selena Gomez's 'It Ain't Me' Debuts in Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart's Top 10" from Billboard (22 February 2017) Afterwards, the song topped Dance Club Songs in its 18 March 2017 issue, his first as a solo artist and his second entry on this chart, when he was a featured artist on Rudimental's "Lay It All on Me", which peaked at No. 38 in 2016. "The Chainsmokers Charge to Third Consecutive No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs" from Billboard (9 March 2017) As of July 2017, "Shape of You" is the best selling song of 2017 in the US with 2.2 million copies sold and the only one to sell over two million. It is also the most streamed song with 690 million combined audio and video streams. It debuted at number one in France, and was later certified platinum there. In Australia, the song stayed at No. 1 for 15 weeks, breaking a record set 22 years ago by Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise". In doing this, it also broke ABBA's record of fourteen weeks at number one, which was set on the previous Australian charts before the ARIA charts became Australia's official charts. In Australia it also achieved 24 weeks inside the top ten, equaling the record with The Prodigy's "Breathe". Lyric video On 5 January 2017, to accompany the song's release, a lyric video for "Shape of You" was released on Sheeran's YouTube channel with "Castle on the Hill". As of August 2017, the official lyric video has amassed over 690 million views on YouTube. Music video On 30 January 2017, the song's official music video, starring American dancer and model Jennie Pegouskie and retired professional sumo wrestler Yamamotoyama Ryūta (credited as "Yama"), was released on Sheeran's channel. It was shot on location in Seattle, and was directed by Jason Koenig. On 8 May 2017, 97 days after its release, it became one of the fastest music videos to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, and as of August 2017, the music video has amassed over 2.0 billion views on the site. and is the site's 13th most-watched video. Remixes The official remix of "Shape of You" features newly additional verses and guest vocals by English grime artist Stormzy. The remix premiered during Sheeran and Stormzy's live collaboration at the 2017 Brit Awards at The O2 in London on 22 February 2017. Sheeran announced on Twitter that the remix would be released officially on 24 February 2017. On the same date, various remixes of the song were released on digital music services. Sheeran teased the releases ahead of 2017 Brit Awards ceremony. "I've got two things dropping on Friday that are pretty interesting," he revealed in a BBC Radio 1 interview just hours before the big show. "One that gets debuted at the Brits, which I think people will go a bit nuts for.” He added, “It's something that I think nobody is expecting. I think it'll be decent.” The Stormzy remix reached No. 1 on The Vodafone Big Top 40. Remixes by Galantis and Major Lazer were also released, the latter of these featuring guest vocals by Jamaican reggae artists Nyla and Kranium, who had both collaborated with Lazer in the past. In the United States, "Shape of You" has immediately become a favorite among DJs and remixers, prompting several of them to create their own versions. One DJ, Joe "Maz" Masurka, told Billboard that after he did his own remix on the single that he received a lot of great feedback and response: "I absolutely love the track, so I had to remix it myself so that I could play it in all my live shows. Ed is a genius; best song in the last few years. I've been playing it literally everywhere I've been booked since about mid-January: Hyde Bellagio in Las Vegas, E11even and Ora in Miami, Parq in San Diego, Premier Atlantic City ... the dance floor loves it.""Why Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You' Has Become a Rare Two-Week No. 1 on Dance Club Songs" from Billboard (16 March 2017) A Latin remix featuring reggaeton duo Zion & Lennox was released on 17 March 2017. Formats and track listings *'Digital download' #"Shape of You" – 3:53 *'Digital download (Galantis remix)' #"Shape of You" – 3:15 *'Digital download (Acoustic)' #"Shape of You" – 3:43 *'Digital download (Stormzy remix)' #"Shape of You" – 3:51 *'Digital download (Major Lazer remix)' #"Shape of You" – 3:12 *'Digital download (Latin remix)' #"Shape of You" – 3:57 *;German CD single #"Shape of You" – 3:53 #"Shape of You" – 3:43 *'Promotional single (Wale remix)' #"Shape of You" – 4:02 *'Promotional single (Remixes)' #"Shape of You" – 6:09 #"Shape of You" – 3:20 #"Shape of You" – 3:47 #"Shape of You" – 2:55 *'Promotional single (DJ Mike D remix)' #"Shape of You" – 3:51 #"Shape of You" – 4:17 *'Promotional single' #"Shape of You" – 3:53 #"Shape of You" – 3:53 *'Digital download (Yxng Bane remix)' #"Shape of You" – 4:25 Charts Certifications }} }} }} }} }} Release history See also * List of best-selling singles in Australia * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Australia) * List of number-one digital tracks of 2017 (Australia) * List of number-one streaming tracks of 2017 (Australia) * List of number-one hits of 2017 (Austria) * List of Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one singles of 2017 * List of Ultratop 50 Wallonia number-one singles of 2017 * List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017 * List of number-one digital songs of 2017 (Canada) * List of number-one songs of 2017 (Denmark) * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Finland) * List of number-one hits of 2017 (France) * List of number-one hits of 2017 (Germany) * List of number-one singles of the 2010s (Hungary) * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Ireland) * List of number-one hits of 2017 (Italy) * List of number-one songs of 2017 (Malaysia) * List of Mexico Ingles Airplay singles of the 2010s * List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2017 * List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand) * List of number-one songs in Norway * List of Philippine Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017 * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Poland) * List of Romandie Charts number-one singles of 2017 * List of Scottish number-one singles of 2017 * List of number-one singles of 2017 (Slovenia) * List of number-one singles of the 2010s (Sweden) * List of number-one hits of 2017 (Switzerland) * Lists of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s * [[List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017|List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017]] * List of Adult Top 40 number-one songs of the 2010s * List of Hot 100 Airplay number-one singles of the 2010s * [[List of number-one Billboard On-Demand Songs of 2017|List of number-one Billboard On-Demand Songs of 2017]] * List of number-one dance singles of 2017 (U.S.) * List of number-one digital songs of 2017 (U.S.) * [[List of number-one dance airplay hits of 2017 (U.S.)|List of Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay number-one singles of 2017]] * List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2017 (U.S.) * List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2017 * [[List of number-one Billboard Streaming Songs of 2017|List of number-one Billboard Streaming Songs of 2017]] * List of most liked YouTube videos * List of most streamed songs on Spotify * List of most streamed songs in the United Kingdom * List of most viewed YouTube videos References External links * * Filming Locations Category:2017 singles Category:2017 songs Category:Ed Sheeran songs Category:Number-one singles in Australia Category:Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay number-one singles Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Billboard Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) number-one singles Category:Billboard Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles Category:Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Denmark Category:Number-one singles in Finland Category:Number-one singles in Italy Category:Number-one singles in Norway Category:Number-one singles in Poland Category:Number-one singles in Sweden Category:Dancehall songs Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Reggae fusion songs Category:Songs written by Ed Sheeran Category:Songs written by Johnny McDaid Category:Songs written by Steve Mac Category:Songs about sexuality Category:Billboard Adult Top 40 number-one singles Category:Songs written by Tameka Cottle Category:Tropical house songs